Vietnamese consumers show optimism

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The figure is eight points higher than the previous quarter and 2 points higher than a year ago.

Meanwhile, consumers in Asia-Pacific continued to display high levels of optimism, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index from Nielsen.

More Vietnamese people, according to the report, were optimistic about the job market in the first quarter. The number of people who feel good about their job prospect increased from 34 per cent in 2012’s fourth quarter to 39 per cent in this quarter. However, it was less optimistic than the regional average (61 per cent).

Asia-Pacific’s optimism for jobs remained high as most countries increased from the previous quarter including Thailand (+2 to 72 per cent), Malaysia (+4 to 67 per cent), Singapore (+4 to 50 per cent) and India (+12 to 76 per cent). Likewise, Vietnamese optimism for personal finance increased 9 points to 50 per cent when compared to the previous quarter, but this figure was still lower than the regional average of 62 per cent, the report said.

When it comes to perception of buying goods, one-third of online Vietnamese respondents said that it was a good time to buy things they want and need over the next 12 months, 4 per cent higher than quarter 4 of 2012 and 7 per cent higher than a year ago.

According to the Nielsen report, "Putting into savings" remained the dominant option in Vietnam when it came to how consumers utilise spare cash after people have covered essential expenses. Seventy-one per cent chose to save spare cash, an increase from 60 per cent in last year’s fourth quarter, while other options increased slightly such as spending on home decorating (+3 to 33 per cent), technology products (+1 to 31 per cent) and new clothes (+3 to 30 per cent). More people said they would spend spare cash on investing stock or mutual fund (11 per cent in first quarter  of 2013 versus 6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012.

At a regional level, Asia-Pacific consumers were at least two times more likely to have spare cash than any other region in the world, with only seven percent of respondents indicating they have no spare cash, compared with 15 per cent globally.

Across the 14 Asia-Pacific countries Nielsen measured in the first quarter of 2013, seven saw increases in consumer confidence compared to the previous quarter, three remained static and confidence fall marginally in the remaining four markets.

The biggest concern for Asia-Pacific consumers remained the economy, with 16 per cent saying this was their largest worry. Work and life balance came in second at 14 per cent and job security was a close third at 13 per cent, according to the report.
 

Top concerns of the Vietnamese consumers.

Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, Q1 2013